Thousands with chronic illness in poverty in Northumberland

The findings come as public health organisations warn of disastrous consequences if people cannot heat their homes this winter.

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New estimates from the Office for National Statistics suggest there were around 58,620 people living in poverty in private households in Northumberland as of March 2021 – 8,915 (15 per cent) of whom had a cardiovascular or respiratory condition.

County Cllr Isabel Hunter is on Northumberland County Council's Board of Health and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee, and covers the ward Berwick West with Ord.

She said the numbers are 'probably worse now' than when the data was collected.

With prices expected to increase in April, she said health problems will continue to worsen as people choose to 'heat or eat'.

To those struggling, she encourages using warm hubs, looking after your neighbours and speaking up for help.

"It's not embarrassing to say 'I'm struggling'," she added.

Liz Morgan, director of Public Health at Northumberland County Council, said: "The conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age are the most important factors in determining good health.

"Poverty causes ill health, drives inequality in outcomes and increases the use of a wide range of services including health and social care.

"Poverty can affect the health of people at all ages and a negative cycle often exists between poverty and health. Unemployment and poverty contribute to poor mental and physical health making it more difficult to find work.

"Many people living in poverty cannot afford the cost of their care, having to choose which prescriptions to be dispensed which increases the risk of their condition worsening over time.

"This negative cycle can extend across generations, starting from conception and impacting on parenting, educational attainment, and employment. To quote Sir Michael Marmot, people don't choose to live in poverty but people living in poverty have fewer choices.

"Tackling inequalities is a priority for Northumberland County Council, to help deliver the best for our residents. We have a Northumberland wide Inequalities Plan, developed through discussion with a wide range of partners and stakeholders and tackling poverty is a component of that plan.

"Evidence tells us that health inequalities are largely preventable, and tackling inequalities is everyone's responsibility. The purpose of the plan is to understand that, so we can close that gap in opportunity and outcome."

The ONS used various sources to come up with the figures, including data from the 2021 census and information on health conditions collected during the coronavirus pandemic.

Though the research did not find that rates of such conditions were higher for those in poverty than for the general population, the ONS said that as people in poverty are more exposed to the cold, they are more likely to be hospitalised or die as a result of them.

Suzanne Fairless-Aitken, Cllr and County Cllr for Hexham East, said: "Public health, the NHS and the economy are inextricably linked - the richer you are, the longer you live and with fewer chronic diseases.

"These figures show the stark reality of the North-South divide and that 'levelling up' is a hollow soundbite. Years of austerity have crippled this country and now, literally, its people. We need real public health changes for the people of the North as soon as possible," she said.

Last year, a separate study from the Institute of Health Equity at University College London cautioned that living in fuel poverty can have "dangerous consequences" on health, particularly among children.

The report warns that alongside higher exposure to viruses, dust and mould as a result of the cold, living in poverty also comes with psychological pressures.

Of the 10.8 million people living in poverty across England as of March 2021, 1.3 million were estimated to be suffering from heart or breathing issues.

Across the North East, around 78,525 people (14.9 per cent) who were estimated to be living in poverty had heart or breathing problems.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: "We have prioritised health and social care in the Autumn Statement with a further £8 billion, on top of previous record funding, to ensure people can access high quality care as soon as possible.

"We are supporting people with the cost-of-living crisis, with £1,200 of support for the most vulnerable households and have provided more than £3.4 billion this year to local authorities in England to tackle issues including alcohol use, obesity and smoking," they added.